A long time ago I wrote about this place in London that does frozen yogurt called Snog. I just kind of forgot about it, and then, about a month ago I went back and now my love for these frozen yogurt treats has bloomed into a full blown obsession. The best part of a good Snog, aside from the taste, is that you can enjoy a nice size portion and stay supermodel svelte at the same time! It almost sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? But seriously, I speaketh the gospel daaaaaahlings! When Hubbs would call me on the phone I would tell him how I couldn’t wait to get back to London for some more. For a couple of days, it was all I could talk about. Finally, Mr P said, why don’t you just get a frozen yogurt maker and make them yourself…. huh???… why didn’t I think of that??? That is just inspired! And you know what? That is exactly what I did. I ordered Moi-self a little Cuisinart ice cream maker AND the Snog cook book. When my goodies arrived to the house, I was practically jumping out of my skin with glee. I couldn’t wait to get started and take my new toys out for a test drive.
The basic Snog frozen yogurt, the flavour which they call “natural,” is actually the simplest recipe ever. No long lists of crazy ingredients. No hard to source items. That, for a start, was very encouraging. Now, the question is, will a home made Snog be just as delicious as the ones in London? Let us find out, shall we?
Okay, I’ve got to be honest here. The result was disappointing. It’s not because it didn’t taste like the one in the store. It pretty much did. The one at home was a little less tart than the ones you buy at Snog, but that didn’t bother me too much. I think that could easily be changed by playing around with the agave/lemon juice ratios. The reason why I wasn’t happy with the finished product is because the texture was just so incredibly off. After making the frozen yogurt, I had to put it in the freezer for a while to harden up a bit, because otherwise you could tell it was going to turn into frozen yogurt soup if I served it right then. After it hardened, the finished product did not have that smooth soft serve consistency (and it wouldn’t make sense if it did, but I don’t know why I didn’t think of that before). Places that do soft serve ice cream and frozen yogurts have special machines after all, to keep their frozen treats in constant motion, and hence their texture stays “just so.” They even mention that fact in the book before they give the recipe. I appreciate that. But the frozen yogurt I made at home… 
… no. It is not like it was horrible or anything, it just totally did not live up to my expectations. It turns out, that for me, that lovely smooth texture makes all the difference in the world. I now realize that I will probably not be able to replicate the actual Snog experience at home. That freaking sucks .
Right now, I seriously want to lie down in the middle of the dining room and throw a little kicking and screaming tantrum… just for effect.
Do you have a great frozen yogurt recipe that works well in a home ice cream maker? Let me know.
Snog pure frozen yogurt
Ingredients:
- 720 ml/ 3 cups plain Greek yogurt (0% fat)
- 360 ml/ 1.5 cups organic low fat milk
- 120 ml/ 1/2 cup agave nectar
- 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Makes 1.4 litres/ 1.5 quarts
Whisk all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Transfer to an ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer’s instructions.
I wonder if there is any “snob” way to make this without the ice-cream maker? ;p
Wonderful HH – I did a double take when I saw the title and thought you were going to get all naughty on us…hehehe…. the yogurt is almost virginal dahling! and delish!
And no, I can’t help you with a non-appliance method
chow! Devaki @ weavethousandflavors
Aww, so sorry to hear that your frozen yogurt experience was less than desirable… However, it does LOOK perfect.
I love the look of this yogurt!
The mental picture of your tantrum is adorable
Oh! I just go an ice cream maker…will definitely try this one…so simple and healthy…and I have all the ingredients.
Hope you are having a wonderful week HH
Oh no thats too bad!! I was hoping for some good news, I would love to give this a try. I make homemade ice cream a lot and sorbets. I do believe I made a homemade yogurt years ago but I honestly can’t remember for sure??? The Snog cookbook looks so adorable! My friend and I are making homemade Strawberry ice cream this weekend. I don’t really like ice cream, I much prefer frozen yogurt or sorbet.
If you find a great recipe please share with us asap
Have a wonderful week
xx
Bunny
PS…I think I responded to one of your comments on my blog at like 3am when I just came home from a party?! I have been a bit of an insomniac these days….then I send emails to people that make no sense LOL!!
I can so see you throwing a tantrum. Can I join you? Sorry this did not match your expectations. Sigh.
Happy Wednesday!
Aw, sorry the experience was disappointing! I have no experience with ice cream machines and frozen yogurt, but if I ever do I’ll let you know
Perhaps you could try putting some of the hard scoop frozen yogurt in the blender or food processor to try to recapture the soft serve quality?
Also, a little tip from Cook’s Illustrated I have tried when making ice cream is to freeze a portion of the ice cream batter in the freezer before churning and then stirring it into the batter until it melts to get the mixture super cold before you churn it. This might help it stiffen up a bit better in the ice cream maker (and get you closer to soft serve consistency). I’m not positive it would work with yogurt, but it is worth a shot.
Well my dear it looks wonderful regardless of the disappointment…when I did my frozen yogurt it was my first time so I am not sure how much help I will be. When it is just done it has more of the soft serve texture definitely, but as you stated it is not as likely to be served at that time. I photographed mine the next morning and let it sit out for about 10 minutes, by the time I was done with the shoot it had softened up to that soft serve texture.
I do have an idea though…what if instead of allowing it to sit out for 10-15 we put it into a pasty tube with a large tip or no tip. Then massage it a bit until it is softened, then swirl it into the cup?
Well anyway it looks delightful
Hope you are having a wonderful week…
sorry about the texture effect. I know what you mean…soft serve rocks !! I love the tip from magic of spice! the pic by the way is fab fab fab!!
sweetlife
There are some things I don’t ever make at home….icecream and frozen yogurt is one of them. But I must say that yours does look good. And boy, I could use something cold right now! Thank you for sharing with me tonight. I always leave with my heart full and my stomach growling. I hope you have a wonderful end to your week. Love from Austin!
I don’t believe you were ever awkward!
I wish I did have a recipe…It would save me from visiting our neighborhood fro you joint every week. Haha!
A nice dessert that my son will like it also^^
The ingredient list is really short and healthier than regular ice cream. I, like you love tart frozen yogurt for the texture. How about try whipping the mixture in a kitchen air to incorporate air? Just freeze the bowl, whip, refreeze for 1 hour, whip again, repeat until desire texture.
Sorry it was a disappointment daahling. If it’s any consolation, your photo is gorgeous! I hope you can find a better recipe. Maybe you need to convince Mr.P to invest in a soft serve machine
“supermodel svelte” and stay skinny all at the same time? LOVE! What a great name for froyo. SNOG – wanna try it here too
You said it in a nutshell: we are more disappointed when something doesn’t quite live up to our expectations (no matter how good) than when we have no expectations and it ruins. Ugh! I’d be crying indeed! But I will say that your bowl of frozen yogurt looks lovely and pretty darn yummy!
I’m sorry you were disappointed : (
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/almost-famous-frozen-yogurt-recipe/index.html
This recipe is delicious, please try it! I personally always use the nonfat Greek yogurt; everything else is clear from the recipe. I make it in my Cuisinart Ice-21 and leftovers freeze well in freezer Ziploc bags with extra air removed =)
I made a video of this where you can see the results of the link I left last time! It’s here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l64OemDSJXM
EDIT: I made a video of this where you can see the results of the link I left last time! It’s here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuzjLo7I8UU
I’ve only made it once, but 101 cookbooks has a frozen yogurt recipe that I really enjoyed. (Hers is “to rival pinkberry” rather than snog–which must not have been around when I lived in London? I did think of the other meaning of snog as well!). I really loved it, because it had a nice yogurt-y flavor. I don’t remember the texture and I suppose that’s all very personal, (but I was fine with it) but it uses plain ol’ sugar rather than agave. I don’t know anything about agave but perhaps since it’s in liquid form it reacts differently to being frozen than sugar?
Snog hears weird, but when I look at the picture of this, it makes me hungry. I love eating sweets like this! Hmmm.. I want to taste this snog. But I can’t prepare it.
I will try to do it this coming Christmas, hope that it will be the one that I imagine. Thank you for sharing this. Keep up the good work!